Vendetta
by athanharthad
Summary: Rochefort convinces the King to put him in charge of punishing the Musketeers when they fail in their duties. However, his personal vendetta against Aramis may add fuel to the fire. The boys try their best to protect Aramis before Rochefort goes too far. NO SLASH.
1. Chapter 1

Hey Guys!  
So I kind of just wanted to add a little disclaimer: I am not an experienced writer, I'm really just doing this for fun and thought I would share my ideas with you all for your enjoyment. Please forgive me if I have overlooked any details or have gotten anything wrong. Also, I made it so that Athos, Porthos and D'Artagnan already know about Aramis and the Queen. It's just kind of the way I wanted it to go in my story. Thank you all so much for reading! It really means the world to me! Please leave a review if you liked it! Enjoy and God bless!

"Porthos, is that your _fourth_ chicken breast?" D'artagnan teased. He clapped the bigger man on the back as they sat at the dining table at the Garrison.

"Don't tease D'artagnan, Porthos is a growing boy. He needs to keep up his strength if he wants to be a Musketeer when he grows up," Aramis jested, joining them at the table.

Porthos shot him a glaring look. "That's all right coming from the smallest man in the company. Even the new cadet, Brujon makes you look like a child." Porthos ruffled Aramis' hair.

"So that settles it then, you are both children," D'artagnan said smugly. "Now, are you going to share some of that Porthos? Or am I going to have to get the cook to come out here and yell at you again?"

"Serge!" Aramis yelled. Porthos jumped over the table to put his hand over his mouth. D'artagnan took this opportunity to steal Porthos' plate.

"Ay! D'artagnan come back here!" Porthos chased him around the Garrison as D'artagnan threw Aramis a wing.

"Gentlemen!" Captain Treville shouted as he rode in on his horse. He looked tired and worn. "Get Athos and meet me in my office." The stress in his voice quickly changed the mood of the whole Garrison. The three Musketeers stopped in their tracks and looked at each other in confusion. The Captain's tone was disconcerting. Athos stepped out of his quarters at that moment and looked at the other three.

When they reached Treville's office, the Captain was taking off his riding jacket. He was getting increasingly frustrated at one of the buckles that was not coming undone. The four Musketeers looked at each other with puzzling looks on their faces.

"Captain…" Athos piped up.

Treville just snapped the buckle and threw his jacket on the ground. "I just came out of a meeting with Rochefort. He said that yesterday, you four started a fight with the Red Guard?"

Athos took a step forward, "That could not be further from the truth…"

"Athos, please, I know the four of you better than you give me credit for. Of course I know this isn't true. That's not what concerned me. Rochefort claims that the King has given him orders to hold one of you personally accountable for things like this should they occur again in the future."

When a look of confusion passed between the four, Treville explained, "I don't know much about Rochefort, but what I do know is that he spent a considerable amount of time being tortured as a prisoner in Spain. His mind is twisted from his experiences and that is what concerns me. What he means by holding one of you 'personally accountable' in the future, i do not know. But what I do know is that it is not good and I would not test him. From now on, you four are to be extremely careful when going about on missions and in going about your daily lives. He is out to get us and has been since day one."

After a moment of silence passed between all five of them, Athos spoke up again, "We will be, Captain. Rochefort will not control us."

"Ah, but I fear he has a hold on the king, and his influence runs deeper than we know. Please be careful until we know what we are truly dealing with here."

Rochefort stared out the second-story window. There the Queen was taking a stroll, carrying her son amongst the lavish gardens and fountains at Versailles. He admired her for her extreme beauty, but also for her strong character, her gentle understanding, her integral intelligence. He has lusted after her for years. He was tired of waiting and now that he has won favor with the king, he is right where he needs to be. The time to strike was closing in and she would love him and they would be happy for the rest of their lives. The King he could deal with. She was never attracted to him as a lover, even now in their marriage it is a well known fact that they do not love each other as husband and wife should. No, Louis was no threat. It was that Musketeer, the one that ladies swooned after. He was the real enemy and he needed to be broken. The Queen would soon come to realize how silly it was to love a lowly Musketeer once she fell at Rochefort's feet, looking for comfort when Aramis was destroyed. Yes, she would come to him for comfort. For solace… for love.

The first step to destroying him was already in place after he convinced the King to sign the notice, handing over sole responsibility of punishing the Musketeers to him. The King was foolish enough to believe that the punishments in question would hardly be punishments at all. What Rochefort had in mind was much darker, much more intense than he let the King believe.

"I have it." A voice woke him from his reverie. Marguerite, the Dauphin's nanny approached slowly. She reached into her pocket and presented Rochefort a necklace with trembling hand. It had a golden crucifix as the centerpiece. Rochefort took the necklace and pondered it closely. Examining every jewel and turning it over and over in his fingers, he closed his eyes and clenched it in his fist. This confirmed his fear that the Queen and Aramis were lovers. This necklace that had been around the neck of that Musketeer was first Rochefort's birthday present to the Queen when they knew each other when they were younger. He would know that Crucifix anywhere.

"Good. Now run back to your post before anyone notices you are gone." As Marguerite left him, he pondered in his mind how badly he wanted to kill Aramis. How good it would feel to have his blood flowing at his feet as he took the Queen to be his forever. He needed his end to be slow, painful, excruciating. The longer it took, the more satisfaction he would get out of it.

He turned the corner to retreat to his chambers, when he ran into the Queen. He bowed, "Your Majesty."

The Queen looked at him and smiled, "Good evening, Rochefort. How are you today?"

Rochefort replied, "I am doing well, but you must excuse me. I have some… business to attend to." With that, he went down the stairs, excited to plan out the days ahead to work out for his benefit.

The Queen noticed something shine in Rochefort's hand. It couldn't be…

Suddenly an overwhelmingly bad feeling came over her. She was not a fan of Rochefort ever since he made his escape and began taking up residence at the palace as Minister. There was something about him that made her uncomfortable. But this… this confirmed her suspicions that he was up to something. She had to send to word to Aramis and fast.

Back at the Garrison the four Musketeers were puzzled over the words of their Captain.

"What was he talking about?" D'artagnan asked.

"We've been mulling over this question for days and we still have no answer. I say let's just get on with our lives. Why should we be afraid of Rochefort?"

"Rochefort is the First Minister of France. He has more power than any of us and we should fear the influence that he has with the King," Athos answered. "We should get on with our lives as Porthos has suggested, but we cannot act in defiance of his warning. Plus, I'm sure that I'm the one he meant when he said 'one of us' would be held responsible."

"And how do you know that?" Aramis asked, coming to join the other three around the fire out in the courtyard. He was holding a letter in his hand.

Athos answered, "I know because I am the oldest and have captained all of our missions together. I am usually the one who takes the fall for failed missions anyway. I'm not afraid of him and therefore have no fear in my heart about what these punishments will be."

"Who's the letter from, Aramis? A lady friend?" D'artagnan laughed.

Quickly folding the letter up, Aramis answered, "Of course not. You know I'm a changed man."

Porthos smiled, "Sure buddy." The four of them laughed but it was quickly interrupted when they heard a shout just outside the Garrison entrance.

Running out to see what it was, the four Musketeers discovered a wagon of prisoners escorted by the Red Guard being overrun by commoners. They ran in to help the Red Guard by pushing the commoners away. Then Athos spied a man running towards the cart with a bundle of dynamite. Athos was too far away to stop the man, but he saw D'artagnan with his pistol.

"D'artagnan! Shoot him!"

D'artagnan saw the man that Athos was referring to and aimed his pistol at the man. He shot but missed his target by an inch. The man continued to run. D'artagnan had no other choice but to run after the man and try to cut him off before he got to the wagon. D'artagnan stood in his way, but the man plowed over D'artagnan so hard he saw stars as his head connected with the ground below him. An explosion destroyed the wagon and the surrounding food carts and merchant stands. The prisoners all jumped out and ran in all different directions.

Aramis and Porthos tried their best to run after the prisoners but to no avail. They returned to the wagon and found all but one Red Guard dead. The surviving guard shouted, "You Musketeers are useless! The Minister will hear of this!"

Athos went over to help D'artagnan off the ground. "Athos… I'm so sorry. I couldn't stop him."

"This was no accident. This was a planned attack," Porthos cut in, observing what was left of the dynamite. There was no way commoners would be able to get their hands on dynamite, it was very expensive and very hard to come by, especially in Parisian economy.

"Someone planned this for them, and gave them the means to do so. I've never seen ordinary commoners revolt to rescue prisoners like this before," Aramis said. "It's not like there was anybody important in there. Just a bunch of lowly thieves and drunkards."

"I don't think they cared about freeing the prisoners. Whoever did this was trying to make us look bad; To make us fail." Athos said with an air of mystery.

They stayed to clean up the remains of the wagon and to get things under control.

Upon returning to the Garrison, Treville was there to greet them. Holding a letter, he said in a low voice, "Rochefort wants to see you."

They looked at each other and with a wordless decision, mounted their horses and rode to the palace at Versailles.

The Musketeers were received in the Great Hall where Rochefort and about thirty Red Guard were waiting.

"I'm glad you could make it Musketeers," Rochefort announced.

"Oh get on with it Rochefort," Porthos quipped.

Rochefort glared at Porthos and continued, "The King signed a decree a few days ago, allowing me the power to overlook all punishment regarding the Musketeers whenever they fail their missions. Looking back over the past few weeks, you have failed in your missions too often and it reflects badly on the King. So, I have taken the liberty to _inspire_ you all to do better in the future. Maybe we can all learn from our mistakes and move on."

"And what gives you the power to admonish us?" D'artagnan asked.

"As Minister of France, I am the King's right-hand man. It was the King's decision, not mine."

"How can you blame the prisoner revolt on us? It wasn't even our mission! You're lucky we were there, or it would have been much worse!" Athos shouted. He was getting tired of these games.

"Athos, you of all people should know that all actions have consequences. There were very bad consequences that resulted from the prisoners revolting and someone must pay for it."

Athos, knowing he wasn't going to win this verbal argument, kept silent. He knew that Rochefort was going to punish him personally for this. It was no secret that the two of them butted heads more than anyone. He prepared himself in anticipation of what was to come.

"Bring me… Aramis," Rochefort commanded.


	2. Chapter 2

Hey guys!

Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoy this next segment of the story. Also thank you to Deana for pointing out to me that there were 22 Musketeers at Savoy! Happy Reading!

Athos was completely taken aback.

The Red Guard grabbed the marksman and brought him forward. Aramis, not wanting to show any weakness, did not struggle.

When the Musketeers noticed Rochefort rolling up his sleeves, they looked at each other with concern in their eyes. What kind of punishment was this going to be?

"What are you going to do to him?" Porthos asked.

"The legend of the brotherhood of the Musketeers is well-known. So, I figured the best place to start would be to make one of you personally responsible. Aramis is my choice. Everytime one of you fails in your mission, you can rely on the fact that Aramis will pay for it. Maybe that will entice you to never give the King a bad name again."

One of the Red Guard gave Rochefort a wooden club. Aramis was forced to kneel in front of him.

"Hey! What are you doing!" Porthos screamed.

"I'm going to break his ribs," He answered coolly.

"It should be me Rochefort! I'm their leader!" Athos screamed.

The Red Guard had to restrain the three Musketeers from getting to their friend.

Rochefort swung the club at his midsection. Aramis fell over and his groans echoed in the Hall. Rochefort beat and beat him until an audible crack was heard and Aramis cried out.

"Enough!" Athos screamed.

Rochefort straightened and a jeweled crucifix sparkled on his chest. It was Aramis' necklace that he had received from the Queen.

"You're a monster!" Porthos yelled. "This is barbaric!"

Rochefort smiled. "I hope you've learned your lesson. There will be more to come if you don't." With a miniscule grin on his face, he turned and left the Hall.

The three of them ran to Aramis who was trying to sit up on his own.

"Aramis!" D'artagnan cried. "I'm so sorry, brother, this was all my fault. If I had killed that man with the dynamite…"

"Enough, D'artagnan, I won't have you blame yourself for this. This is no one's fault but Rochefort's," Athos responded.

Aramis didn't look too bad when they got him up on his feet. Porthos helped him to walk out of the palace and return to the Garrison.

In Treville's office, D'artagnan wrapped Aramis' ribs as Athos briefed Treville on what transpired. "It was like he _wanted_ to do it."

"I will need to speak to the King about this. There is no way that he allowed a punishment this extreme. I will be back."

"It wasn't even our fault that that revolt happened. It was the Red Guard's duty. We just happened to try and help them, yet we, or rather Aramis, are getting the blame for it," Porthos said.

D'artagnan finished wrapping his ribs and helped him put his shirt back on. Aramis sat there silently for a few minutes before he said, "Did anyone notice the crucifix around Rochefort's neck?"

Athos looked at him and nodded, "Yes it looked familiar."

"It's mine. I thought I had lost it."

"How did he get it?"

"I don't know. But the Queen sent me a message, saying she saw him with it and she was worried that he knew about us. I didn't think anything of it at first, but after today, I think she's right."

D'artagnan spoke, "Treville won't let this stand, will he?" The young Gascon had never seen such outright brutality. His fear for Aramis was rooted in his naive love for the older Musketeer.

"I don't know that Treville has any power to say. Louis' been angry at him ever since he refused position as Minister. Plus, Louis' been locked up in his chambers ever since he learned about the plague spreading to Paris. Even the Queen barely sees him," Athos said.

The room grew quiet with an unspoken fear; an anticipation of how long this was going to go on for and how far out of their control this was going to go.

"Rochefort can't go on with this cruelty. Would he dare physically abuse a Musketeer in the name of the King?" D'artagnan asked, not able to control his puppy dog eyes.

"All we can do is hope and pray that Treville gets through to the King," Porthos said as he took a seat next to Aramis. "How are you feeling, 'Mis?"

Aramis had been relatively quiet ever since they got back from the palace. It was due more to the fact that he feared for the Queen and the Dauphin than from his own injuries. He had no idea what Rochefort knew about him and the Queen, but he knew it wasn't good. "I'm fine, Porthos, thank you."

"Rochefort just broke your ribs, I don't think you're 'fine'."

"No really, it's not as bad as it looks. I should be ok soon."

"And until then, we will have your back and settle this whole matter. I swear on my life we will stop him."

"Rochefort will not win," Athos said sternly. "Woe is he who commits an injustice upon the Musketeers."

Aramis smiled. His brothers always had his back and he always would have theirs. But that didn't help the deep anxiety that filled his mind and heart about the fate of the Queen and the Dauphin, should Rochefort find out the whole truth about their affair.

Treville stormed into Rochefort's chambers while the Red Guard desperately tried to stop him.

"Rochefort!"

Rochefort stood from his chair, "Well it's good to see you too, Captain," sarcasm evident in his body language.

"I demand an explanation! How dare you touch one of my most loyal Musketeers! The King will hear of this!"

"The King already knows about it, he's the one that signed the order."

"Under false pretenses! If he had known the physical assault you were going to be handing out, I'm certain he would not have signed the order."

"The King has given me full responsibility to deal with the messes that your Musketeers consistently deal out."

"Intentionally beating Aramis until his ribs break is psychopathic!"

"Tell your Musketeers to clean up their missions and we won't have to worry about this anymore will we?"

Treville was stunned. He was truly dealing with an egomaniac. "Go to hell, Rochefort."

"I've already been," Rochefort quipped. They stood glaring at each other until Treville finally stormed out, eager to meet with the King.

Rochefort sat in silence, pondering his next move. "Pierre, come here."

Pierre, the head Red Guard, came in, "Sir?"

"I would like to commend you for your efforts in staging the prisoner break out the other day. It went very smoothly."

"Thank you, sir."

"I will keep you updated on our next move regarding the Musketeers. Before you go, I have a question to ask you. When you worked for the Cardinal, did you ever hear him mention anything about the Musketeer Aramis?"

"No, sir, but I do know that he had a few papers on him that he kept in the upper left cubby, if you would like for me to fetch them for you."

"Please."

Pierre grabbed a couple rolled up scrolls and handed them to Rochefort. He took them and opened the first one which was entitled, 'SAVOY'. Rochefort had heard horror stories about the mission that went horribly awry. 50 soldiers and only one survived. He had heard the blood from the dead Musketeers tainted the ground in such a way that nothing grows there anymore. He skimmed the document and smiled when he read that Aramis was the lone survivor. "Ahhh, Aramis miraculously survived the ordeal, did he? Being the only survivor out of a company of 22 of his closest friends has to take a mental toll." Rochefort sat there and conjured up one of the sickest ways he could possibly break Aramis. "Pierre, Listen to me very closely. We've got some work to do."

A few days had passed since the beating of Aramis. His ribs had healed quite nicely in that time, though Dr. Lemay was not allowed out of the palace due to the King's crippling fear of contracting the plague and could not adequately diagnose Aramis. Aramis himself was pretty sure they were only cracked, not completely broken. This helped the healing process speed up significantly. He spent those days alone in his room, thinking about how he was going to protect the Queen and the Dauphin. Rochefort was an extremely dangerous man and has proven resourceful. He had decided that he was going to do everything in his power to keep the Queen and the Dauphin safe; no matter what the cost.

Captain Treville had told them earlier that his attempt to talk to the King was unsuccessful since he would not open his doors to see him. That cast a damper on the mood of the whole garrison since they now came to the realization that this really was up to them to fix. They couldn't rely on the King.

Athos, Porthos and D'artagnan came into Aramis' quarters.

"Are you up for a mission, 'Mis?" Porthos asked.

"Really?" Aramis asked, confused. He didn't think he was going to be cleared by Treville this soon.

Athos spoke up, "The mission is simple enough. Even you couldn't screw this up," he laughed.

"What is it?" Aramis asked, eyes wide in anticipation. Being alone for the past few days made him miss his brothers. He never did well on his own. Being left to his own thoughts never turned out well.

D'artagnan sat on the end of Aramis' bed and clapped his knee, "We just have to accompany the King to greet the Princess of Sweden who is coming in this evening."

"And it's just to the end of the Versailles staircase," Porthos added.

"Well that should be easy enough," Aramis said, getting up from his bed.

"Knowing Rochefort, he won't make it that way," Athos grumbled. "He will be there along with the Red Guard, so please, let's keep alert in case he has anything planned."

Porthos rubbed Aramis' shoulders, "we won't let anything happen to you, 'Mis."

Aramis smiled in appreciation of the brotherhood that he was being protected by. "Thank you."

Athos opened the door, "Let's get saddled up."

Inside the palace, the four Musketeers stood vigil at the bottom of the staircase, waiting for the King to come out of his chambers.

"You alright, 'Mis?" Porthos asked. He was always the mother hen between the two of them. Out of the four of them, Porthos and Aramis had known each other the longest.

"I'm fine, Porthos." Aramis noticed D'artagnan's cheeks flush and a smile flutter across his lips.

Constance walked down the stairs and walked right up to the Musketeers, "I heard what happened, Aramis, are you alright?"

Aramis nodded as D'artagnan spoke, "Constance, you need to stay away from Rochefort. He is a very dangerous man."

"You don't need to explain to me why he's dangerous. The Queen grows very nervous when he is near. The way he looks at her…"

Aramis looked at Constance, "Is she in danger?"

"Not necessarily. But I don't like leaving her alone. I never know what's going to happen. What Rochefort is scheming behind his dead eyes."

Aramis replied, "Constance, you must promise me that you will keep an eye on things, and if they get bad…"

"I know." Constance smiled. She has been a great and loyal friend to the Musketeers for a few years. Aramis knew that if he could not be with the Queen at all times to ensure her protection, he could rely on her to do it for him.

The King and Queen descending down the stairs with Rochefort in tow, interrupted their conversation.

"Has the Princess arrived yet?" Louis asked Rochefort.

"Yes, sire. Her carriage is pulling up now." Rochefort glared at the Musketeers, who in turn glared back.

"Let me at him, I'll rip him to shreds," Porthos commented.

"As entertaining as that would be, we have a duty to perform. And I don't have to remind you what's at stake if we fail," Athos said.

Porthos looked to Aramis and frowned. "I hate this. Rochefort's going to watch our every move. He's just waiting for one of us to screw up"

The doors were opened and a bone-chilling wind blew on the company. It was an extremely cold day, colder than any Paris had seen yet that year. There was about 4 inches of snow on the ground and it looked as if it were going to continue snowing through the night.

King Louis and Queen Anne led the company out onto the road which the Princess' carriage was arriving. It was all a very regal affair; Everyone was dressed to the nines and awaited the Princess with smiling faces despite the miserable weather.

The carriage pulled up to the main entrance and the door opened. King Louis took a step forward with his arm outstretched ready to take her hand. "Princess Elsa, welcome to Paris."

Suddenly a shot rang out and a statue that was set near the Kings head exploded.

The Musketeers looked in the direction where the shot was heard from and Athos, D'artagnan and Porthos ran after the assailant. Aramis, knowing he wouldn't be any help with his injured ribs still healing, helped corale the King, Queen and Princess inside the palace. "This way your highnesses!"

D'artagnan, by far the fastest amongst the three of them, could see a dark figure weaving in and out from among the bushes and trees. He sprinted as fast as he could and was gaining on him.

"Hey! Stop! In the name of the King!"

D'artagnan turned a sharp corner when a Red Guard suddenly appeared. Crashing into each other, both men went flying and landed heavily in the snow. Enraged, D'artagnan screamed, "What are you doing?!" He got up quickly and looked around him for any sign of the assailant, but couldn't see any trace of him. "You let him get away!" D'artagnan ran a few paces ahead but could see no clue as to where the assailant may have gone off to. He saw a piece of ripped cloth clinging to the sharp end of a branch. He picked it up and closely examined it. It was dark leather and had a jagged edge from where it had ripped. Athos and Porthos caught up to him.

"What happened?" Athos asked, noticing the snow on D'artagnan's face.

"I'll tell you what happened! There was a Red Guard standing right behind the corner and he purposely cut me off! Now I've lost him! I swear if Aramis pays for this…."

"We'll make sure he doesn't. Come, let's get back to the palace," Athos said calmly.

The first thing that could be heard was the King berating every poor soul around him.

"This is an outrage! An assassination attempt just outside my palace! I could have been killed! Killed! I want his head!"

Athos, unchanged by the King's tantrum met with Pierre and asked, "Where are the Queen and the Princess?"

"They are safe in the Queen's chambers, along with the Dauphin."

"Good. I will try and get the King back in his chambers."

Athos walked up to his King and tried to get him to go upstairs. "Please your Majesty, come this way."

"Have my loyal Musketeers found the murderer who tried to kill me?" the King asked.

"Unfortunately, he got away."

"This is unacceptable! You will find him and bring him to me!"

"We will try our very best sire," Athos answered as he ushered the King back into his chambers.

D'artagnan looked around, "At least Rochefort isn't here to see this."

Porthos answered, "Well he was earlier and I'm sure he'll hear we didn't catch the guy who did it. He'll be looking for any excuse to get to Aramis."

Athos came down and joined the other two Musketeers. "Well the King's in a mood and we can only hope nothing comes of this. Who would try to assassinate the King on palace grounds?"

"Whoever it was had to have been very gutsy, but also would have had to know the palace layout very well," Porthos responded.

"What did the assailant look like, D'artagnan, could you see him at all?" Athos asked.

"I could see nothing but a dark cloak and a dark hat. I did pick up this piece of ripped cloth from a nearby bush. I think this came off his cloak. Maybe if we can match this up with his cloak, we can identify our guy?"

"That would be a long shot. How many people have ripped cloaks on the streets of Paris?" Porthos asked.

"I could be wrong, but this looks like the kind of leather that the Red Guard uses for their uniforms," D'artagnan added quietly.

Porthos looked at him quizzically, "D'artagnan, are you accusing the Red Guard of attempting to assassinate the King?"

"I don't know… why was there a Red Guard waiting behind that bush when I ran into him? I don't think that was an accident."

Athos joined in, "It could all be Rochefort's doing. He wants to see us all fail, especially Aramis."

"Speaking of Aramis, has anyone seen him?" Porthos asked.

The three of them looked around and noticed that they hadn't seen him since the shot fired.

Porthos said, "Maybe he's with the Queen. I'll go check." He ran up the staircase and knocked on the door to the Queen's chambers.

"What is it?" Constance asked, answering the door.

"Sorry to disturb you, but have you seen Aramis? We thought he might have escorted the Queen back here."

"He's not in here," Constance said frankly. Noticing the distraught look on Porthos' face, she added, "Last I saw him he was talking with Rochefort."

Porthos' heart dropped. He had to get to him now. He looked over the railing and shouted to Athos and D'artagnan, "Hey! He's with Rochefort!" Going back to Constance, Porthos asked, "Can you keep an eye out for him? Send word if you see anything!"

"Ok. I will," Constance answered with a look of confusion evident on her face.

Porthos sprinted down the stairs. All three Musketeers were frantic as they searched every inch of that palace. They looked in every room, in every closet, in every dark corner of Versailles, but to no avail.

"I can't find him anywhere!" Porthos shouted as they all met up outside the Great Hall. Athos kicked the door in frustration.

"Are we certain Rochefort took him?" D'artagnan asked in desperation.

"I know it was him," Porthos roared. "That monster did this. He set this whole thing up to seperate Aramis from us."

"We'll go to Treville, talk to him and see what we can do," Athos said.

For the rest of that evening and into the night, Athos, Porthos and D'artagnan roamed the streets of Paris searching for their brother. All three Musketeers were experiencing something they had never felt before. It was a terrible mixture of anger, emptiness, hopelessness, fear and confusion. How could Rochefort just take him from under their noses like that? It had to have been planned. It had to have all been a ply to get Aramis alone.

Feeling dejected and hopeless, the three Inseparables went back to the garrison and spent a sleepless night worried sick about what kind of punishment their brother was enduring on their behalf.


	3. Chapter 3

Constance awoke that morning feeling refreshed. The events from last evening resulted in an early night in so she could finally get the rest she so desperately needed. Being a lady in the Queen's court was hard work and she was glad to have a rest from it for the night.

She got up from her bed and brushed her long hair, placing small blue flowers throughout. She looked out her window and admired the snow falling from the sky. Snow had always been her favorite ever since she was a little girl. It was so pure and clean, it reminded her of innocence and goodness. Looking back, she couldn't tell you what made her open the window, but it was this moment that changed the course of the story. Once the window was opened, a wicked breeze invaded her room. A wicked breeze that had a small cry echo in it.

Did she imagine it?

She looked out and saw a copse of trees all covered in snow. There in the distance was a small figure walking towards the palace from the trees. When the figure got closer, she recognized it as Rochefort.

"Jean-Luc!" Constance cried as she ran out of the room. The servant boy came running up to her. "Jean-Luc! I need you to run to the Garrison and tell Athos to come as quickly as he can!"

The boy sprinted down the hallway and Constance ran back into her room to grab a shawl and a pair of boots. She didn't know what she would find, but she had a feeling in her gut that she needed to hurry. Wanting to sprint but not wanting to draw attention to herself, she settled for a brisk walk. She followed the footprints in the snow all the way to the copse of trees that she saw from her bedroom window. Once she was under cover of the trees she heard soft moaning and words that were mumbled together. "Aramis?" Constance asked in disbelief. Were her ears deceiving her?

She stopped in her tracks and gasped. Aramis was sitting in the snow in nothing but his braies. His arms were bound behind him and secured to the tree that he was sitting against. He was leaning as far forward as the bonds allowed. "Aramis!" Constance cried. She knelt down in front of him and wrapped her shawl around his bare skin. She lifted his chin gently and saw blood completely coating the right side of his face. Some of it had dripped down to his chest and onto the snow. She tried to rouse him from unconsciousness. "Aramis! Can you hear me? It's Constance!" Aramis blinked groggily. His eyes weren't focusing. She hugged him close and tried to warm up his skin. He was freezing cold. Ice had formed in his hair and in his eyelashes. It looked like someone had drenched him with water because his braies were stiff and frozen solid. She untied the bonds holding him to the tree and caught him when he started to fall forward. "Aramis, we have to try and walk back to meet Athos before Rochefort comes back. Do you think you can stand for me?" Constance had no idea if he could hear anything she was saying, but once she started to lift him to stand, his feet moved slowly under him. She was heavily supporting him, but he was fairly light compared to the other Musketeers.

Aramis groaned. "Shh, it's ok. I will get you out of here."Step by step they made it back to the palace gardens.

The sound of hurried hooves told Constance that Athos had arrived..

"God help us," Athos gasped as he saw Aramis. He took him from Constance, cradling him in his arms. "Can you get medical supplies from Dr. Lemay and meet us back at the Garrison?"

Constance nodded and ran inside.

Aramis groaned as Constance cleaned out his head wound. He was floating in and out consciousness, mumbling about Savoy. "You're in Paris, Aramis. Listen to me. You're going to be ok." Constance had been trying to coax him out of his reverie ever since they had recovered him from the forest. Now all four Musketeers, including Constance, were back at the Garrison, worriedly watching their friend writhe in his bed.

"I'm going to kill him. Rochefort is a dead man." Porthos fumed. The only thing that was keeping him in that room and not going out and literally killing the man in question was his concern for Aramis' well-being. "He knew about Savoy. He re-enacted the circumstances, the injury to his head…" He choked up thinking about the violent cruelty.

"He's still too cold." Constance pointed out. Aramis' lips were blue and his skin was deathly pale, making the wound on his head look like a stark comparison.

Porthos, having been with Aramis when he returned from Savoy all those years ago, knew instantly what to got in bed next to Aramis and wrapped his arms and legs around him as violent tremors wracked Aramis' slight frame. Constance went to work placing hot water bottles around his midsection, armpits and between his legs.

"I should've… stopped them…. They're all dead…" Aramis cried.

"Shhh Aramis, its ok. You're in Paris. You're safe." Porthos hushed.

Porthos remained with him through the night, rubbing warmth back into his frozen body. D'artagnan, Athos and Constance left knowing Aramis was in good hands. Aramis has had far more head wounds than the rest of them, so Porthos knew exactly what to expect with this one. First it's delirium, then its body chills, then vomiting. That's where they were now.

Porthos helped Aramis lay back on the bed after what felt like the millionth time throwing up. Aramis was too weak to do anything other than blink hazily. Porthos noticed his eyes beginning to focus. "Hey there buddy. That's it. Come back to us."

"Porthos…" Aramis groaned, hands coming up to rub his eyes.

"It's me, 'Mis. How are you feeling?"

Aramis let out a pained breath in response. He was looking around the room in confusion. "Where am I?"

"We're back at the Garrison, in your quarters. Aramis, listen to me, do you remember what happened?"

Aramis closed his eyes in pain. The room was spinning and the light coming from the candle was bothering his eyes. "Do I have a concussion?"

"Yeah, someone hit you hard. Do you remember who it was?"

Aramis shook his head slowly. Porthos could sense the panic behind his eyes.

"Its ok if you don't. Everything is going to be fine."

Aramis began to shiver again which led Porthos to promptly wrap more blankets around him.

"I dreamed I was in Savoy. Snow…. It was everywhere. I was alone, but he kept coming back," Aramis cut off. He was reliving his worst nightmare.

"Aramis, I don't think it was a dream. Constance found you out in the snow with no clothes on and blood pouring down your face."

Aramis looked up at Porthos, "it was real?"

Porthos hugged Aramis closer. "I'm afraid so. I'm so sorry 'Mis, we couldn't find you. We searched all night…" Porthos, still emotional from those long hours when they didn't know if Aramis was alive or dead, teared up and held onto his brother like a lifeline.

"I think I'm starting to remember. I don't know what was a dream or not, but I think I remember bits and pieces."

"Let me get Athos and D'artagnan. They should be around to hear this."


	4. Chapter 4

Hello all! Wow it's been a while! Sorry doesn't even begin to describe how I feel for taking so long to update! I made this chapter longer to hopefully make up for it. Thank you all for sticking around! I appreciate every comment! Enjoy and God bless!

Aramis wasn't sure at first if what he was remembering were things that actually happened, or if they were just dreams jumbled together with memories of Savoy. His head wound wasn't helping him separate dreams from reality, but the longer he thought about it, the more he was convinced they actually happened. It's like when you awake from a dream that was so real you think it actually happened, but the more you think about it the more you realize it didn't happen. Well, the opposite was happening to Aramis. The more he stayed conscious, the more he realized none of it had been a dream at all. He could remember more detail with every passing minute.

Athos walked in the door suddenly, with Porthos and D'artagnan following suit.

"It's good to see you awake brother," D'artagnan said softly. He also knew exactly what Aramis needed when dealing with head wounds. Quiet was a must.

Aramis, although happy to see his brothers, could not lift himself into a sitting position. All he could do was smile and blink slowly. Porthos resumed his position next to him in bed while D'artagnan knelt on the floor close to his bed and Athos took the chair and scooted it in as close as he could without hitting D'artagnan. If anyone needed proof that the Musketeers loved each other, this scene was it. All four in close proximity, keeping vigil over their fallen friend.

"I hear you can remember something about last night?" Athos stated. "Walk us through whatever you can remember."

"And take your time. We are in no rush," Porthos added, knowing it would be hard on him to not only try and remember everything given the head trauma he had just endured, but reliving memories that so closely bordered Savoy was going to be horrendously difficult.

"I… I remember being at the palace. Everyone was panicking for some reason. I was getting the Queen and the Princess to safety. I don't remember what happened after that because the next thing I saw was snow and trees all around me. Someone was dragging me. I tried to fight but I couldn't get my limbs to cooperate. He sat me down in front of the tree and started talking to me."

"Who was it?" Athos leaned in.

"I remember blonde hair and a golden crucifix… my crucifix."

"Rochefort!" D'artagnan shouted.

"Go on, Aramis."

"He was talking about Savoy. I don't remember exactly what he said but I remember being surprised at how much detail he knew. He blamed me for their deaths and told me I was…" He choked up. The pain of Savoy still fresh in his mind. Porthos squeezed his hand.

"Its ok, Aramis. Take your time," Athos soothed.

After a few deep breaths, he blinked back tears and continued, "He told me I was unfit to continue living because of what I had done and that I needed to die like how they all died."

"That monster!" D'artagnan spit. "He tried to kill you?"

"He didn't try to kill me himself. He wanted the cold to do it for him. Slowly. He removed my cape and sash, and continued speaking to me about Savoy. I begged him to stop. He took off my shirt and my boots and my trousers, leaving me only in my braies. When my arms started to gain back their strength, he tied them behind the tree. The last thing I remember was him picking up a thick branch. I think he hit me in the head again."

"He tried to reenact the events at Savoy just to break you down? This is not just a dislike of the Musketeers. This is a personal vendetta against Aramis."

Porthos closed the door to Aramis' quarters and joined the other two musketeers at their usual table on the garrison grounds. He sat down with a huff and slapped his hand on the table top.

Athos, taking a long gulp of wine, offered him a glass. Porthos shook his head.

"How is he?" D'artagnan asked.

Porthos let out a deep sigh. "He threw up a couple more times."

"Poor kid. Is there anything left in him to vomit up?" Athos sighed.

"No, he definitely doesn't. In fact I've been trying to get him to eat and drink a little, but he can't keep anything down."

D'artagnan asked sympathetically, "when do you think he will be able to recover?"

Porthos looked dejected. "I don't know if there is a true recovery from this. True, he will get over the concussion and the headaches; but the mental anguish he had to relive about Savoy….. There's no healing from that. He has never recovered from Savoy in the first place. Bringing it back like this is just pouring salt on a wound that has never closed."

"What are we going to do about Rochefort?" D'artagnan asked.

All eyes laid on Athos, their leader. "We have to be very careful about how we carry on. Rochefort is extremely influential to the king and is almost untouchable. We've seen how deep his influence reaches. And with the king being in the mood that he is in currently…"

Porthos grumbled, "the more we delay taking care of Rochefort, the more Aramis suffers. Why can't we just end it?"

"And what, kill him? That would solve nothing. It would destroy not only our reputations, but also those who are associated with us; Treville, Constance, the Queen… no, we need to do this the right way. Rochefort needs to be found out by the King. it is our job to lead him in that direction."

"But what do we actually have on Rochefort, besides the fact that he's a creep?" D'artagnan asked.

"Well, for one, what he's doing to Aramis is not just. I have enough faith left in the King that if he saw what was truly happening to his own musketeers, he would out a stop to it. Another thing is that we know he's been in love with the Queen since the moment he stepped foot in the palace. We could recruit Constance, ask her to keep an eye out for any evidence with which to indict him. D'artagnan, could you be in charge of that?"

The Gascon nodded his head.

"We must tread carefully with Rochefort because he knows about Aramis and the Queen. If he smells a trap, he will play that card in an instant."

"Why has he not told the King yet?" Porthos asked.

"I think it's because he hasn't any evidence. But i do not doubt that he will use it against us in an act of desperation. Because planting a seed of doubt in the King's brain might work for him if he has no other choice."

"Alright, I'm on board. But we have to promise to work as quickly as possible. I can't take a hurt Aramis anymore. He's too precious to us. No more blood on his account." Porthos said with a serious tone to his voice.

The three Musketeers looked at each other and agreed.

"How are you feeling, Aramis?" Athos asked.

It had been four days since they had recovered Aramis. He spent those days in bed as his brothers were constantly by his side. If he wasn't sleeping, he was probably throwing up or at least, feeling like he was about to.

"I'm much better today," Aramis said as he managed to sit up on his own.

"Ah. I can see that. When's the last time you threw up?"

"Not since last night."

"Well, you certainly are on the mend aren't you? This reminds me of the time you and I were sent to deliver a message to the Duchess of Rheimes and we had a run in with a group of robbers on the road."

"Ah yes," Aramis smiled. "When I was knocked off my horse and hit my head right on a jagged stone."

"I didn't think head wounds could be that bad."

"And you freaked out the whole time," Aramis laughed.

"What? I was concerned for your well being!"

"I know. And I am still in your debt for keeping my head on until we got back to the garrison."

"You know Porthos still never lets me live that down. Thinks it was all my fault and how i was supposed to be looking out for you."

"No way, he still brings it up?"

"I couldn't keep track of how many times he has reminded me of it."

Athos poured a cup of water, "how about we try to get some food in you? Have you had anything to eat today?"

"No."

Athos sat on the bed and gave the cup to Aramis. The younger man's hands shook, "When;s the last time you ate anything?"

"Well I tried yesterday morning but I couldn't keep it down."

"Yesterday morning? And Porthos allowed this? How are you supposed to get better if you don't keep your energy up?"

Aramis looked down sheepishly as Athos grabbed a roll from the bedside table. "Here, take a bite."

"I'm gonna throw it up."

"Not if you haven't vomited since last night. Come on, at least try. I will personally rub your back if you do throw up." Athos joked.

"Well gee, thanks." Aramis said. He took a very small, timid bite of the roll and swallowed slowly.

After a few moments, Athos asked, "how are you feeling?"

"Surprisingly fine."

"Good! Now keep eating, you need the energy."

Aramis ate the whole roll and felt no bad side effects from it. Athos sat by and looked satisfied with his progress.

"Athos, would you mind helping me walk around the room? My legs are getting restless."

Athos grabbed Aramis' hands and helped him stand. After almost tipping over, Athos stood there, steadying him. "Whoa there, get yourself grounded. Give yourself a second."

Aramis was slouched into the steady form of Athos breathing heavy and blinking back the pounding behind his eyes. After a few moments, Aramis straightened. Athos continued to hold Aramis' hands in his and stood in front of him as Aramis managed to take one step at a time in slow succession.

"Thank you, Athos." Aramis said as they returned to the bed.

Setting his friend down on the bed, Athos knelt on one knee before him, "no problem. I'll take you about the room anytime."

"No, I mean thank you for taking care of me. All of you have been heroic in your care for me."

"Aramis, there's no need to thank us. It's our duty, our obligation to take care of each other. Now that i know your physical health is on the mend, how are you mentally?"

"I'm not going to lie, it's been tough, really tough. Savoy is something that I'm always going to live with. But, knowing that I have you three to help me through it makes it easier." A tear fell from his eye.

Athos grabbed his hand in sympathy. "I cannot imagine the hell that you have endured, but know that I am always here when you need me. I don't think that I need to remind you that the same also applies for Porthos and D'artagnan."

Aramis smiled in response. "Thank you. I just hope that none of you do anything rash in the wake of this whole Rochefort situation. I could not bear the thought of losing any of you."

"Don't worry yourself about that. We have a plan to take down Rochefort."

"I was just thinking about that actually. Why don't we ask the Queen for her help?

"That is a good idea. She has always been a friend to us. And if the King actually listens to her, her influence can trump Rochefort's."

"I'm sure she would be all for it. Let me go to her right away. The sooner we deal with this whole thing, the sooner we can be rid of it."

Athos made sure that Aramis was comfortable before he left for the palace.

"Your majesty, thank you receiving me." Athos said, bowing low. He had always respected her and thought of her as the more reasonable of the royal couple.

"Of course, Athos. What is it that you need of me?"

"Have you heard of what Rochefort has implemented regarding the punishment of our regiment, particularly that of Aramis?"

Upon hearing the name Aramis, she perked up. "I have heard something of it, but am not completely understanding of the situation.

"Well, to put it frankly, your majesty, Count Rochefort has convinced your husband to implement a punishment for the Musketeers whenever we fail in our duties. What the King does not know however is that Rochefort has abused his power in this ordeal by staging failures and wrongdoings of us Musketeers to make it look like we are constantly in the wrong."

"That's awful," the Queen stated.

"But that's not the worst of it. We've been dealing with the Red Guard doing things like this for quite a while now. The thing that is making this unbearable is the fact that Rochefort is physically punishing our brother, Aramis, whenever this occurs."

The Queen let out a gasp.

"I don't want to pain you with the specific details of what has happened, but know that Aramis almost died on the most recent venture and i can assure you, he will only increase his punishments. I am telling you this, not to worry you, but to ask for your help."

"Of course, Athos, I will help you in anyway that you need. I never trusted Rochefort. Not since he returned from imprisonment in Spain."

"We would think it would help if you tried to talk to the King and bring this situation to light. I'm sure that if he truly knew what was going on, he would put an end to it."

"Of course."

"We need evidence to stop Rochefort if he doesn't believe you. If you could keep a lookout for anything suspicious about him, we would greatly appreciate your cooperation."

The Queen's cheeks were blushed pink from the shock of the news that had reached her ears, "Rochefort is a snake. I want him out of my palace as much as you do. I will try my absolute best to help you. I will send word when I meet with the King and let you know what happens."

Athos bowed low once more, "we are certainly indebted to your Majesty."

The Queen smiled graciously as Athos took leave.


End file.
